Effect of post-harvest treatments on shelf life of ber fruits.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of post-harvest treatments on shelf life of ber fruits. Uniform and healthy fruits of Umran cultivar at golden yellow stage of maturity was selected for the study. The fruits were treated with and without edible wax (stafresh). Three kg of fruits was packed in each packaging material viz., polyethylene bags (100 gauge) and corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes (4 ply) and stored in two conditions viz., ambient conditions and cold storage. Observations were recorded at an interval of three days in ambient conditions and six days in cold storage. The fruits which were packed in polyethylene bags and stored in cold storage was found the best treatment, as the weight loss, decay loss and acidity were minimum; 4.88%, 16.37%, 0.163% respectively. The total soluble solids (16.83°B) and ascorbic acid (90 mg/100g) was observed maximum on 24th day of storage. The fruits packed in CFB boxes and stored in cold storage were intact (more firm) than ambient conditions on 12th day. Ber fruits can be stored economically for 6 days in ambient conditions and 24 days in cold storage.